Creepy Crayon!
Creepy Crayon! by Aaron Reynolds is estimated to take about 8.5 minutes to read aloud (770 words, about 2 sentences a page), and it lands best with children aged 5-8.
Estimated read-aloud timeabout 8.5 minutes
- Words
- 770our estimate, not a published count
- Sentences a page
- 2
- Re-read tolerance
- 4/5survives a fortnight on repeat
- Vocabulary
- 3/5a few new words
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The full review
Our review of Creepy Crayon!
This story moves into more ominous territory than the previous title. It uses repetition to build a sense of tension as the crayon’s influence grows.
It's a good fit for older children, specifically from kindergarten and up. The concept of a "helpful" tool becoming an obsession is a clever way to tell a spooky story.
Before you buy it
This is more serious and ominous than the title suggests; you'll likely find it's a better fit for kids in kindergarten and older.
Themes: Halloween, school, temptation, rabbits, secular.
Same shape, new story
Books like Creepy Crayon!
Matched by refrain, density, length, and listener—not just the subject.
Straight answers
Questions parents ask about Creepy Crayon!
- How long does it take to read Creepy Crayon! aloud?
- About 8.5 minutes at an unhurried pace, including a standard allowance for page turns, pictures and participation, from a word count of 770. Stopping for a longer conversation on every page will add more time.
- What age is Creepy Crayon! actually for?
- Ages 5-8 in our testing, which is narrower than the publisher's range. With 2 sentences a page and vocabulary at 3 out of 5, it asks for that much attention span and no more.
- Does Creepy Crayon! survive being read on repeat?
- Yes. It survives a fortnight of nightly repeats, which is the real test.
- Is Creepy Crayon! a good book for a child who will not sit still?
- It helps that it has a refrain a child can join in with. Those three features are what keep a wriggling toddler listening, far more than the subject matter does.
- Will my child memorise Creepy Crayon!?
- Probably, and fast. The book leans on a repeated refrain, and at 4 out of 5 for re-read tolerance it survives the nightly repeats that get a book memorised. Expect your child to chant the pattern back before they can actually read.
- Can a beginning reader read Creepy Crayon! on their own?
- Not yet. At vocabulary level 3 out of 5 and 2 sentences a page, it is a read-aloud book rather than a first solo read. Read it to them now, and hand it over in a year or two.
- Is Creepy Crayon! part of a series?
- Yes, it belongs to the Creepy Tales series. It stands on its own, so you can start here without reading the others in order, then move to the rest if it lands.
- What themes does Creepy Crayon! cover?
- We tag it with Halloween, school, temptation, rabbits and secular. Those are the threads that actually run through the book, not just the ones on the cover, which is how it earns its place on our themed lists rather than a keyword match.